The Harris Family: Walker is 19 months old!

I feel like this has been a big month for Walker. He's started doing more things and saying more things and it's been fun to watch him grow into such a big boy. Happy 19 months, sweet boy! We love you and your funny, cute, one-of-a-kind self!

Accomplishments:

can chew gum
has started saying "mama" and "ha" (for "hot") and he even tries to make an elephant noise and move his arm like an elephant's trunk
can almost jump
dances by bouncing up and down
can throw a ball
can nod his head "yes"
can sign "more" but he doesn't really do it independently - just if you ask him to
puts binkies away in a binky box (not too happily)...now they are reserved for naptimeand bedtime only
broke his video monitor temporarily because he discovered that he can now play with it
can really blow bubbles well in the water (he does it all the time in the bathtub)
is trying to jump - usually just his legs bend and one foot leaves the ground or they both do at different times
says “sshhhhh” when putting anything to sleep (but it sounds like “ccchhhhh”)
can usually identify the letter "O" (or the number zero) and will say "oooohhh" when he finds it
participating when we toast one another and say "cheers" at the dinner table
can sometimes identify the letters W, A, and E
can usually identify the triangle and the circle in his shape puzzle
has started to imitate sounds…like “ooh” (if we say it first) and “oooooom” (when racing his cars)
can growl like a bear/lion

Loves/Obsessions:

walking backwards in the rocks...

clocks - big ones, small ones, clocks on buildings, clocks in stores
timers
watches
airplanes in the sky
playing with cards/postcards
phones (as in real, land-line house phones)
cars/trucks - he does that adorable one-knee-one-foot crawl while pushing along a car
balloons
candy
alone time with his sister's toys (like her Polly Pocket dolls, her babies, etc.)
feeding Reagan - and Reagan knows it to the point where she primarily relies on Walker for food
trying to sit in my lap when Lainey is already sitting there - he'll even squeeze in between us
playing in Reagan's water dish - Reagan's food goes swimming in there, his cars go swimming, his plastic animals go swimming... Reagan doesn't love this.
likes putting tissues up to his nose and pretending to blow his nose
pulling Lainey's hair when he's mad at her (and it hurts her - I feel like his only way of exerting control)
climbing onto someone's tummy (if they are laying down) and bouncing up and down, up and down, up and down
still loves baseballs, footballs, soccer balls, basketballs, basketball nets, baseball bats, etc.
Ben's He-Man collection (that he had as a child - he doesn't have a He-Man set now)
swimming - zero fear - like walk-off-the-step-and-sink-into-the-water type of zero fear
doing whatever Lainey does - if she laughs, he laughs; if she pats her tummy, he pats his tummy; if she wrestles with Daddy, he wrestles with Daddy

Peculiar Developments:

This picture pretty much sums up Walker's
feelings about being 19 months old. Life
can be tough and you don't always get to do
what you want!

doesn't like getting his hair brushed (or cut) - I run behind him with a brush as he runs away from me
He gets so excited…he freezes his little facial features in a strained smile, his body goes rigid, and he clenches his fists when he is super excited about something. He also lets out a little squeal. We generally see this particular expression of emotion when seeing the 4-wheelers here in Colorado, suckers, or puppy dogs.
is having a thing with shirts - as in, he doesn't want to wear them if they are at all in his way
doesn't like dirt/mud/anything messy on his hands
can be bribed with M and M's as a "special surprise" after he takes his medicine
lays down on his tummy in the tub whenever he doesn't want to get out
doesn't like having his jammie pant legs pulled up - even if one is up and one is down
has gotten very good at completely collapsing his arms so it's almost impossible to pick him up
the library, the mall, the store...all off-limits unless he's restrained - otherwise, I'll be putting DVDs back in their cases at the library, chasing him into stores in the mall, or replacing items on shelves in the store
There is a bronzed statue that is in our library
near our house…it’s a little boy with his hands positioned so that he can hold a book. Walker insists that the little boy have something to read. Whether it be a DVD, a magazine, a book. He gets so worried about the fact that the little boy doesn’t have something. He has left the children’s area a time or two to go “help” this little boy by giving him something to read! (This is another reason why I've deemed the library as an off-limits-except-when-he's-restrained place - the bronze statue is awfully close to the doors of the library!)

Has Been Known To:

steal puzzle pieces
hide his little cars in people's shoes/boots
play with DVDs and their cases (in, out, in, out)
start a game of tag when he knows a diaper change is needed
have lots of conversations - almost always sounding like, “Ba ah dah atttsss.” Or “…chhtss.” Or “…ah dahtss." Followed by pointing and then a repeating of those sounds.
stand up when getting water poured on his head
hide things in trash cans (we have lost a few things) and he loves putting things through the slats in the shutters
fall down a lot
cry if his shirt or pants get wet
want to drink out of a cup
take off the caps of about 20 markers and color on any available surface
walk up to someone and hold their hand :)

pointing to an airplane in the sky

Injuries to Note:

Within a span of 8 days, Walker got hit by the swings and thrown into the wood chips (by his one and only mom), ran into the baby gate that we have on the stairs and cut his eye, hit his head on the corner of the bathtub and it bled (scary for Mom), and bumped his chin on the coffee table in CO and caused his bottom lip to swell and bleed.
Whenever he bumps his head or hurts his finger/toe/hand...he grabs at the sore spot as though trying to put the hurt into his hand.

picking a flower
for Mom

giving the flower to Mom

If you look very closely, you'll see Emmy, Tuck, and Lainey (and the dogs) coming home from their walk. They are just below that tall tree in the middle of the picture.